There are trips that feel like vacations, and then there are trips that completely fill your creative well.

My recent trip to Italy with my two children, Malachi and Angelina, was definitely the latter.

I came home with hundreds of photographs, pages of sketches, memories of extraordinary meals, and so many ideas for future paintings.

Throughout the trip, I kept thinking:

I need to remember this color. This light. This view. This feeling.

Milan: Leonardo, the Duomo & High Fashion

We began in Milan, a city where art, architecture, fashion and design seem to exist everywhere you look.

One of the experiences I was most looking forward to was seeing Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper.

We had a small tour group, and once inside, we were given only about 15 minutes with the painting. I spent every one of those minutes studying it.

I have seen The Last Supper reproduced countless times in books and classrooms, but nothing prepared me for standing in the actual room with it. I studied the composition, the figures, the gestures and the incredible perspective.

For me, the experience felt deeply spiritual.

There was simply nothing like it.

Because access to the painting is carefully controlled for conservation, reservations are required, so this is definitely something to book ahead when planning a Milan trip.

The Duomo—and Milan Beneath Milan

We also visited the magnificent Duomo di Milano and went below the cathedral to explore its Archaeological Area.

I was fascinated by this.

Beneath the Duomo are remains that tell the story of ancient Milan, including traces connected to earlier religious structures and tombs.

I loved experiencing Milan in layers—the vibrant modern city above us and centuries of history literally beneath our feet.

Milan Fashion Was an Art Experience Too

And then there was the fashion!

We delighted in walking Via Montenapoleone, Milan’s famous luxury shopping street and the heart of its fashion district.

Gucci. Prada. Bottega Veneta. Valentino. Armani.

The storefronts themselves felt like miniature installations.

As an artist, I found myself studying everything: the fabrics, colors, displays, architecture and beautifully dressed people walking around us.

Everyone seemed so elegant and intentional about what they were wearing.

Angelina was in heaven.

She found the viral “city bag” dupe at Silvia Milano, which has become known online for its Italian leather handbags.

She also found the perfect pair of jeans at the Miss Sixty Milan Art Concept Store, located at Via San Paolo 1. The store itself is worth seeing—the space combines fashion, art and contemporary design.

Meanwhile, I was taking tons of photographs.

Milan was one enormous visual feast.

A Contemporary Art Stop

I also made time for a visit to ABC-ARTE, specifically its Milan space ABC-ARTE ONE OF at Via Santa Croce 21.

Whenever I travel, I try to seek out contemporary galleries.

Seeing what artists are making—and how galleries in different cities curate and present their work—is endlessly inspiring to me.

By the time we left Milan, my phone was full of photographs and my head was full of ideas.

Ponte di Legno: Our Italian Storybook

Then we met up with Angelina’s exchange student, Ivan, and drove into the mountains to Ponte di Legno.

This part of the trip felt like stepping into a storybook.

We stayed at Adamello Resort, an apartment-style resort surrounded by the mountains and just minutes from the lifts.

This is the property I would personally recommend because it is where we stayed, and it made a wonderful base for exploring Ponte di Legno. The resort also has a pool and spa area.

Ivan’s mother also runs the larger Residence Club Ponte di Legno, which has 73 apartments ranging from studios to larger two- and three-room apartments. It would be a wonderful option for families or anyone wanting a bit more space.

Ponte di Legno itself was delightful and impressively well cared for.

It is known for skiing, but I was surprised by how spectacular it is during the summer.

Apparently the Italians already know this.

I'm not sure I want the rest of us to find out!

Mountains, a Glacier & an Amazing Meal

We took the lift high into the mountains and saw a glacier.

Part of the glacier had been carefully covered in an effort to protect the ice from additional melting during the hot summer months.

The landscape was breathtaking.

We also ate at Il Panoramico Ristorante at Adamello Resort, with absolutely stunning mountain views and amazing food.

This is the kind of place where the setting becomes part of the meal.

But perhaps my favorite food experience of the entire mountain stay was our Italian-style “picnic.”

Calling it a picnic really doesn't do it justice.

We traveled high into the mountains to a cottage perched above the valley and settled in for what became a spectacular five-hour meal.

There were delightful wines and antipasti of soft and hard cheeses, speck and breads.

Then came mushrooms freshly picked from the mountains, meats, grilled cheese and course after course of food.

And then:

Dessert.

Dessert wine.

Coffee.

No one rushed.

We talked. We ate. We drank wine. We looked at the mountains.

It felt like a dream.

At one point Ivan’s Nonna looked out across the mountains and called the view:

“Paradiso.”

Paradise.

She was absolutely right.

It was also a wonderful reminder of something the Italians seem to understand instinctively:

Enjoy the moment you are actually in.

Portofino: Mediterranean Blues

Next we traveled to Portofino, where we stayed in an Airbnb right in the center of town, just steps from the water.

For a painter, Portofino is almost overwhelming.

The painted buildings.

The blue-green water.

The boats.

The rocky coastline.

Flowers spilling from balconies.

Striped umbrellas.

Mountains disappearing into the distance.

Everywhere I turned was another potential painting.

Paraggi Beach

We loved nearby Paraggi Beach—including the rocks!

The rocks may not be everyone's idea of a perfect beach, but we loved the experience.

We did not use a beach club ourselves. But for someone who prefers a reserved chair, umbrella and beach service, I would look into Bagni Fiore and book ahead.

The Lemon Risotto I Am Still Thinking About

One of my favorite meals of the entire trip was at Da I Gemelli in Portofino.

The restaurant sits right along the waterfront, making dinner feel like part of the Portofino experience.

I had the most delicious lemon risotto with fish.

Bright, fresh, lemony and perfectly Italian.

It was one of those meals you continue thinking about long after you come home.

Santa Margherita Ligure

We also walked around neighboring Santa Margherita Ligure, which was another delightful town to explore.

For our final lunch, we ate at Il Caffè del Porto on Via Tommaso Bottaro.

Sitting near the water for one final Italian meal felt like the perfect way to end this part of the trip.

Running, Painting & Sketching My Way Through Italy

I also managed to get in some great runs throughout the trip.

Running is one of my favorite ways to experience a place.

You see things differently when you are moving through a city early in the morning—the quiet streets, architecture, changing light and little corners you might otherwise walk past.

And naturally, my sketchbook came with me.

I painted and sketched throughout our travels.

Travel sketching isn't about creating a perfect finished piece for me.

It's about looking.

When I stop and draw something, I remember it differently.

I notice the shape of a mountain.

The curve of a coastline.

The line of a building.

The blue of the Mediterranean.

The particular green of an Italian hillside.

Those observations eventually become part of my paintings.

What I Packed: My Travel Art Kit

I like to keep my travel supplies intentionally small. I want enough to capture an idea without feeling like I'm carrying my entire studio.

My Italy art kit included:

• Small watercolor or mixed-media sketchbook
• Compact watercolor travel set
• Water brush
• 2B drawing pencil
• Waterproof black drawing pens
• Watercolor or colored pencils
• Small eraser and sharpener
• Binder clips to hold pages in the wind
• Small pouch for everything
• My phone—which is absolutely part of my artist toolkit when I travel

Coming Home With a Full Creative Well

The greatest souvenir I brought home from Italy wasn't something I bought.

It was inspiration.

Standing in front of The Last Supper.

Studying high fashion on Via Montenapoleone.

Walking through a contemporary gallery.

Seeing a glacier high in the Italian Alps.

Sharing a five-hour meal overlooking the mountains.

Eating lemon risotto beside the water in Portofino.

Running through places I had never seen before.

Sketching.

Painting.

And experiencing all of it with my children.

I came home thinking about Mediterranean blues, Italian reds and yellows, mountain shapes, fashion, architecture, food, family—and the wonderfully Italian idea that perhaps a meal really should take five hours.

Now I'm back in my studio with a very full sketchbook and an even fuller creative well.

I can't wait to see what Italy becomes on canvas.